Small trucks have been popular with consumers for many years. The pick-up truck in particular has enjoyed strong sales. Such trucks typically have a front cab area for the occupants and a bed area behind the cab. The bed area is often used for hauling items and typically has a hinged tailgate on the rear of the truck to provide entry into the bed.
Users frequently wish to enter the truck bed area to facilitate loading or unloading of items. In the open, generally horizontal position, the tailgate is typically several feet above the ground. For many users, this distance impedes comfortable entry into the bed area. The desirability of having a step to aid entry into a vehicle has long been recognized. For example, it has been known to employ steps to provide entry access to the interior of vehicles, such as recreational vehicles. It has also been known to provide step bumpers for facilitating entry access to a truck bed when the truck tailgate is in the closed or upward position. When such a step is unavailable, a user may use whatever assisting accessory that may be available, such as a step ladder, a cinder block or similar item to aid entry into the bed area.
The above approaches present limitations. When the tailgate is in the open position, step bumpers or similar step arrangements are largely inaccessible to a user wishing to step up into the truck bed. Furthermore, if carried in the truck, step ladders and comparable devices can take up undesirable amounts of storage space in a bed area. They can also be relatively unstable during use. Accordingly, a convenient, stable entry accessory is needed that is well-suited for use with a truck tailgate when the tailgate is in the open, generally horizontal position.